Liverpool star set to line up against Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia as Al-Hilal weigh up mammoth wage offer: Reports

Liverpool attacker Darwin Nunez could allegedly play against Cristiano Ronaldo as Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal are interested in signing the Uruguayan in the near future.

Nunez, 25, has failed to live up to expectations since joining the Reds from Benfica in a move worth up to £85 million in 2022. Despite being a big favourite of Jurgen Klopp's, he has fallen down in his club's pecking order of late.

The Penarol academy graduate has started just seven Premier League games under current Reds head coach Arne Slot. He has registered four goals and four assists in 26 games across competitions for his team this season.

Now, according to Anfield Watch, Al-Hilal are planning to lure Nunez away from Liverpool with a massive contract offer. They are willing to offer the Uruguayan, who is on £140,000-a-week, a salary of around £400,000-a-week.

Should the Reds attacker seal a permanent switch to Al-Hilal in the future, he would offer fine competition to ex-Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Liverpool great hits out at Darwin Nunez

Speaking recently to ITV, Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler hit out at Darwin Nunez for being not up to the Reds' lofty standards. He said (h/t Metro):

"We're saying the same things now as we were two or three years ago. He's raw, this, that. You can't keep saying that. The more I see him the more I think he's not a Liverpool player. People might have a go at me for saying this because he works hard... you're not signing a player because he works hard. That should be a prerequisite anyway. You've got to come here and score goals."

Fowler, who scored 183 goals in 369 matches for the Reds, continued:

"I don't think he's quick enough in his thought in terms of how he should be finishing. He's quick over the ground, we know how quick he is, but when you are a striker your speed of thought has got to be quicker than anyone else. When he has time to think about it he struggles. When he’s instinctive, sometimes he looks a little bit better but we still probably want a little bit more."

Since departing Benfica in 2022, Nunez has found the back of the net 37 times and laid out 21 assists in 122 overall matches for the Anfield outfit.

Nunez will miss Liverpool's Premier League contest against Nottingham Forest at City Ground on January 14 owing to a one-match suspension.